Canon's long-awaited 20D replacement is out. It is essentially a 20D Mark II, with the same 8MP sensor and the same not-especially-bright viewfinder but a raft of minor changes which add up to a significant new product for birding and sport photographers. These include:
- Better RAW buffer. By tweaking the firmware, canon have found a way to almost double the RAW buffer from 6 frames to 11 frames without actually making the camera's memory any bigger.
- Spot metering
- ISO in the viewfinder (but only when you press the ISO button)
- ISO can be set in one-third stops
- Better-shaped multicontroller, supposed to be easier to use
- Selectable burst rate: 5FPS or 3FPS
- Picture styles like the 5D, much better control of JPEG saturation, sharpening, etc
- Bigger LCD, same as the 5D
- Other stuff that, frankly, I couldn't care less about, such as direct print.
The nearly-double RAW buffer alone is probably enough to persuade me to sell one of my almost-new 20Ds and replace it with a 30D. At 11 frames instead of a piddly 6 frames, the 30D threatens to be a practical camera to use for birding shooting RAW - something I couldn't say of the 20D which forces me to use JPG nearly all the time.
And wow! Just when we though Canon would never, ever, ever offer a proper spot meter - an essential feature that Nikon have had for years, that Canon's own pro DSLRs have had for years, and even their P&S models have offered since Adam was in short pants - they give us a 3.5% spot in the 30D. That's nice too.
It is long past time we had ISO in the viewfinder (but it should be visible
all the time, not just when you press the ISO button) and the one-third stop flexibility will be welcome too.
I for one will be buying a 30D sometime this year.
Unless, that is, the
other new Canon camera that is yet to be announced is still more tempting. Wait and see.
Why do I say that Canon will announce another camera soon? Because, fine camera that it promises to be, the 30D doesn't seem to have what it takes to match the new Nikon D200 in many people's eyes. Sure, I would rather a 30D for my bird work, but a lot of other people will look at the 10MP sensor of the D200 and the weather sealing and go Nikon. I just can't see Canon failing to respond to their arch-rivals like that, and I can't see the Canon 5D filling up the gap either: it just costs too much to make a full-frame sensor, and there is no way Canon can sell the 5D for a near-D200 price, so there has to be another model to slot in-between. It would need to be a 1.6 or 1.3 crop sensor, around 10 or 12MP, and have other features to match or better the D200. For bird and sport photographers, it just might be irresistable.